Process of manufacturing nitrocellulose films or sheets.



110.726,614. 4 PATENTED APR.23, 1903.

F. A. ANTHUNY.

PROGESS OF MANUFACTURING NITROGELLULOSE FILMS 0R SHEETS.

' APPLIoATIoN FILED Nov. a, 1902. l 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

' i JZMM/ 3 f 6W 01014 mb( mi@ @@Ew,

PATENTED APR. 28,v 1903.

. E. A. ANTHONY. PEOGESS 0E MANUEASTUEING NITEOGELLULUSE EILMS 0E SHEETS.

APILIUATION FILED NOV. 8, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

2 SHEETS-SHEET www" NITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

FREDERICK A. ANTHONY, OF HACKENSACKNEW JERSEY.

PROCESS OIE-MANUFACTURING NITROCELLULOSE FILMS 0R SHEETS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 726,614, dated April 2.8, 1903.

Application led November 8,1902. Serial No. 130,476. (No specimens.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK A. AVN- THONY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the town of Hackensack,in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Method or Process of Manufacturing N itrocellulose Films or Sheets, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the novel mechanism employed byme'in carrying out my said method or process.

In the drawings, Figure l illustrates a side elevation of the mechanism employed by me iu practicing my process. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional View of the mechanism shown in Fig. l, taken on the lines 2 2 thereof, parts of the same being shown in plan. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional View of the mechanism shown in Fig. l, taken on the line l l thereof. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of thecoating mechanism and adjacent-guiding-frame which coacts therewith.

A A are two frames suitably braced, as

shown, which preferably extend from the iloor below to the ceiling above, the lioor and ceiling being indicated, respectively, by B and B.

C is a large cylinder-or drum, preferably made of wood, as shown in Fig. 2-that is to say, it embodies a series ofV solid circular.

heads or disks D, spaced as may be necessary in the length ofthe drum or cylinder, and longitudinally-extend-ing beams E E, with suitable cross-pieces or braces F,'so as to make a rigid self-sustaining structure.

or wooden rings or braces G. The exterior of the drum may be made of relatively thin smooth boards, (shown at H,) or a sheet of metal may be used, if preferred. i This'cylim- There may also be circumferentially-extending metallic lsuitably-actuated driving-pulley at any suitable place and coming thence toward one end of the drum passes over the pulley M, thence encircles the end of the drum, passing away therefrom over another pulley M', as shown, so that practically the entire end of the drum is encircled by and in contact with the belt. This large area of contact between the belt and the drum precludes the possibility of slipping.

N N illustrate a slideway which may be made of timber suitably supported on legs or supports O from the floor. Upon the slideway slides or rolls, as preferred, the carriage P. One of the timbers N of the slideway (see Fig. 3) is made angular on its upper edge, as shown at Q, which engages with a corresponding groove R in the under side of the carriage of the frame, so that the carriage may be properly guided in its movement. The other timber Nof the slideway may have a flat top and engage with suitable blocks S, fastened to the under side of the p the liquid to be applied to the paper or fabric,

as hereinafter described. `This trough is supported upon an upper frame W of the carriage, which is pivoted to the under frame thereof bya pivot or .bolt Y, whereby the upper frame may be swiveled relative to the carriage proper, P, so that the web or fabric will be presented at an angle relative to the plane of the drum, that it may be wound spirally thereon in smooth even couvolutions. The angular position of the upper frame relative to the under frame of the carriage is best shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

Mounted upon the upper frame W there is a curved upwardly-extending frame or rack a, embodying two side pieces and suitable braces b b, which support a series of rollers c, rotatably journaled thereon. This rack,

being supported upon the pivoted upper frame W, assumes the same angular position IOC relative to the drum that the Lipper frame itself does.

d d are two shelves or ledges at the sides of the rack, upon which the vessels containing the solution for the replenishment of the trough may be conveniently placed.

e e are two guide-rollers supported on the rack-frame, as best shown in Fig. 3, which may be beneficially employed to guide the web or fabric.

ffare two arms pivoted, as at g, (see Figs. 3 and 4,) to the rear brace b of the rack, and they carry the guide-roller h on a suitable axis e' t'.

7c represents two cords, one only being shown, which are attached at one end to a cross-shaft Z and at the other to arms ff, which are actuated by a thumb-nut m, the shaft being provided with a ratchet and pawl n, whereby the vertical position of the arms f f, and consequently that of the coatingroller 71may be regulated as the solution in the trough V gradually descends as it is used up.

1J (see Figs. 3 and 4) is a spool suitably journaled in a bracket q and in one of the side pieces of the rack a, which carries the cord r, which as the drum revolves is wound oif from the spool p between the edges of adjacent convolutions of the fabric or web, so as to effect a separation between them and prevent the flowing of the liquid coating from one convolution to the other or over the edge of the fabric or web onto the face of the drum. The shaft of this spool is provided with a hand-wheel s, whereby the cord may be wound back again upon the spool after each operation of the machine.

The carriage bearing the coating-trough, the coating-roller, and superposed rack is caused to move from end to end of the slideway by a traction-belt t, which passes over a pulley u on the main shaft I of the drum, and thence over another pulley, journaled at one end on the slideway, thence around another pulley w, and thence back again to the pulley u. The carriage P is detachably connected by any suitable appliance or device at any suitable place to this rope. In Fig. 3 I show a thumb-screw threaded to a stud y on the under side of the carriage. This thumbscrew presses against the traction-belt t to prevent slipping. This isa convenient construction, because by it, when desired, the thumb-screw may be run back, and the rope will then move continuously without actuating the carriage, and the carriage may be moved along the slideway by hand until it is desired to operate the machine and then quickly and conveniently clamped to the traction-belt tfor its proper actuation. The belt maybe tightened as it becomes slack or as the atmospheric conditions influence it by an ordinary belt-tightening screw a'. (See Fig. 2.)

In order that the apparatus may be adapted to coat a variety of materials, some requiring more speed than others, I prefer to make a series of pulleys u upon the main shaft I of the machine, having different sizes, so that the speed of the carriage may be regulated. I show two such pulleys only, one of them indicated by u, as above stated, and the other indicated by u. There may be a succession of these, or a cone-pulley suitably grooved may be employed.

I practice my said process when employing the above-described mechanism as follows: The nitrocellulose-that is to say, the guncotton, paroxylim or nitrated tissue, as it is variously called-having been dissolved and reduced to the desired state of limpidity by the employment of suitable solvents and proper manipulation thereof, as is now Well understood, is placed within the coatingtrough v of the machine, and the upper frame of the traveling carriage is swiveled to such angle relative to the plane of the surface of the drum as is requisite to wind the successive convolutions of the fabric smoothly and spirally upon the drum in such manner as that they will not overlap, but will lie properly adjacent to one another. The roll of the web or fabric of such size-JL'. e., width and lengthas desired is then supported upon the axis of the brackets T of the carriage, as shown in Fig. 2. The web may be of paper, cloth, or composition fabric having such characteristics and such surface as desired, or it may be a coil of thin metal. The arms ff, which carry the coating-roller h, are then by the proper manipulation of the little shaft Z lifted, so that the coating-roller does not touch the surface of the solution in the trough o. The end of the web is drawn off from the coil U and passed over the guide-rollers e e, thence under the guide-rollers c c, and attached in any suitable manner to the drum, preferably near its left-hand end, all as shown in Fig. l. The carriage will, of course, have been moved to that end of the cylinder and duly connected with the traction-belt t. By the turning of the little shaft Z, so as to permit the descent of the arms f f, the coating-roller is lowered until its under arc properly engages with the solution in the trough V in a manner now well understood. The cord r is also drawn o from the spool p and its end properly attached to the surface of the drum close against the forward edge of the web or strip of fabric. All things being now ready, the power is applied and the drum is slowly rotated by the movement of the power-conveying belt L. The revolution of the drum pulls off the web from the roll U, thence over the guide-rolls e e, under the coating-roll h, where it is uniformly and smoothly coated with the solution in the trough, thence up over the guide-rolls c c, and, finally, it is wound upon the surface of the drum in a spiral manner, as shown in Fig. l, the cord r being simultaneously wound spirally around the drum between the adjacent edges of the several con volutions of the web.

The speed at which the work is performed may be regulated as the character of the web ICO IIO

and the characteristics of the solution require or as the preference of the operator may suggest.

After the desired quantity of web has been coated with the nitrocellulose material or when the drum is full further operation of the machine will be suspended until the coated fabric has dried, as may be desired. It will then be removed from the machine in any preferred manner. A practical and effective way is to cut the web across at the point where it was first connected to the, drum, and then by running the machine, the carriage being 'disconnected from the traction-belt t, so that it will not move, the coated fabric will be unwound from the drum if the severed end above referred to be taken hold of and moved away from the drum as it gradually unwinds.

In order that the sheet or film of nitrocellulose may be stripped from the fabric upon which it was made, as above stated, I prefer that the end of the web should be conducted from the machine-above described to a device for stripping the tilm or sheet from the web, so that the operation will be, in effect, a continuous one, and the product with the nitrocellulose film or sheet separated from the web may be effectively preserved and taken care of, so that it will not be liable to injury.

Of course the end of the cord r should be disconnected yfrom the spool p, which supports it during the secondary operation of the machine, after the drying of the film, as above stated, and after the removal of the coated web from the drum. The cord may be again wound upon the spool after the second operation by the use of the hand-wheel s.

It will be understood that the surface of the web may be treated with starch, parafn, wax, or such other materials as are well known and now used for the purpose of'regulating the adhesion between the nitrocellulose solntion and the web in a manner now well understood.

After the film of nitrocellulose has been stripped from the web it (the film) may be in turn passed through the machine for the purpose of having a sensitized gelatino-argentic or other equivalent photographically-sensitive coating applied to its surface, whereby photographic material now well known may be beneficially manufactured.

I call attention to the following features pertaining to myprocess: When the dissolved nitrocellulose is spread upon the web or fabric and commences to dry, it has a' decided tendency to contract laterally, thus tending to curl up the edges of the web, and although this feature is likely to occur to a certain extent, at least, in the coating of sheets of fabric with other materials, yet it is a peculiarly objectionable incident in the coating of nitrocellulose in solution, and therefore. the presence of the series of guide-rollers c c on the traveling rack and their disposition in such manner that the web makes an vangle or bend at each one of them, as illustrated in Fig. l, and particularly at the upper ones, by which time the drying operation hasvadvanced somewhat, tends to hold the web down flat and properly guide it upon the drum, upon which the strain due to friction causes it to be drawn snugly in place. Also by the employment of the cord r between the adjacent edges of the convolutions of the web whenupon the drum I secure absolute uniformity in the thickness of the coating, which cannot run off sidewise, thus tending to thin the coating at the edges, because the cord acts as a dam, preventing such lateral flowing. This cord also prevents the smearing of the face of the drum and the sticking together of adjacent edges of the web, which might result in rupture of the coating during the act of removing the coated fabric from the drum. Also the taking down or removal of the dried or partially-dried coated fabric, which is a somewhat difficult matter unless expensive and cumbersome drying devices are employed, is rendered easy and simple after my process as above described and explained.

Having described my invention, I claiml. In the manufacture of nitrocellulose films or sheets, the following process, to wit: supporting a web of suitable material upon a movable coating device, presenting the coating device at an angle relative to a revolving drum, maintaining the coated web fiat during all its transit between the coating device andthe drum by applying thereto tension and causing it to travel in a series of different planes, moving the coating apparatus and web supported by itras stated longitudinally of the drum while the latter is revolving and allowing the coating to dry upon the drum.

2. In the manufacture of nitrocellulose films or sheets the process of coating dissolved nitrocellulose upon a web of fabric, winding the coated web spirally upon a cylindrical IIO surface and interposing a raised rib or dam between the adjacent edges of the web upon such cylindrical surface.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERICK A. ANTHONY. Witnesses:

R.- A. ANTHONY, L. S. VAN Nos'rRAND. 

